Epilogue.
The years passed by while Ashton and I watched Braxton grow up into a stunning little boy. And as he grew so did the band; selling out arenas and playing multiply shows. With the rising success their fan-base was sure to enlarge as well.
They went to places people only dreamed of going and did wonderful things.
Through it all Ashton stuck around, keeping his word of not leaving again. He stuck around through the birthdays, fights, and distance. Though there actually wasn't that much distance between us since Braxton and I went on tour with them any chance we could.
All of the guys had grown fond of Brax, wanting him around to see him grow up. Well it was either that or they grew tired of Ashton's complaints of us not being around. It would always be that he would leave for tour and about three weeks later one of the others would call and beg us to save them.
We went with them for as long as I could until Braxton had to stay and do schooling. It was weird not having them around for the first few months but after a while I had gotten the hang of everything.
As Braxton turned five, Ashton had proposed to me and asked to officially become Braxton's dad. I was extremely happy as I would finally have that family of my own that I wanted.
The planning of the wedding happened fairly quickly and put an enormous amount of stress on my shoulders but add on the adoption papers and trying to get Blake to corporate just added to the work load.
A year, June twenty fifth, after Ashton proposed we were married. It was a small intimate wedding on the beach in Australia. Neither of us wanted something big for a ceremony or reception.
It was late in the evening when we said I do; the sunset was cast behind us causing a perfect scene for our first picture of us kissing as a married couple. For our honeymoon we decided to take a week to Hawaii.
As hard as it was, Braxton went and spent that week with Austin, Rachael, and Elliot. The whole week went by really fast as we took our time walking around Honolulu and spent the time just with each other.
The month after we got back from our trip, the adoption officially went through making Braxton officially an Irwin.
Although that wasn't the only thing we were celebrating that month either.
Luke and Jessica had become parents for the first time to a little girl named Claire Nicole. She was an adorable little baby with her dark hair in a mass of curls on top of her head and a similar profile to that of her dad's.
Michael and Calum would always try to steal her from me whenever they were around but she's become my little niece and doesn't like being away from me too well. They were all so cute and a lovely family.
They were married and starting a family as Michael had just found a girl who was quite the opposite of him. She was so calm in looks and style that no one really knew how they had found each other. Although we all took to her pretty well.
I'm not for sure but it must have been about nine months of dating before Michael had asked her to marry him. Everyone was so happy for them, me especially since I had watched girls come into their lives for all the wrong reasons.
Natalia was the shiest girl I've ever seen or met. To this day they're still happily married and as for kids, well to them they're not trying but if it happens then they are fine with it. I think they'd be the perfect parents. Although it is Michael we're talking about so his kids could grow up with multiple hair colors and the latest gaming consoles.
Calum, well he's been floating about for a little while. He didn't really want to settle down back then when everyone had someone else. We all felt bad about having our partners while he was still flying solo.
Though now, he's been seeing this girl who is pretty artistic. She's a small town painter, from the northern part of the United States, Chicago but had moved to London a few months out of college.
They met on the last tour that 5SOS did, which was last year, and now we all live fairly close to one another in Australia.
Today, however, was Braxton's seventh birthday party. Him and his little friends from school were all running around the back yard, chasing after one another. I smiled at them, laughing as they all were getting muddy and just being boys.
Luke and Jessica sat in patio chairs beside me with little Claire. She wanted to get down and run around with the lot of boys but it was much too dangerous for the toddler so Jessica had her sat on her lap.
On the other side of the large backyard there was a few parents standing around the food table laughing and watching the madness go down.
I smiled as Braxton ran to Ashton, clinging onto his side. Ash bent down and picked him up, placing him on his shoulder. I laughed at them as I leaned back in my chair. Natalia sat down in the chair to my right, leaning over and commenting on Michael and Calum's situation.
"Think they got a little in over their heads?" She moved her gaze to the two guys who were trying to keep the barbecue going but were failing miserably.
"Poor guys. They should really know how to barbecue by now."
-Ashton-
I smiled as I placed the blanket over Braxton. The poor little lad was tuckered out from playing with his friends all afternoon and now he was out before he had even had a bath. At least he was able to change into pajamas before totally falling asleep on me.
I backed out of his room slowly, turning the light off and heading down the kitchen. Courtney stood by the sink, taking some dishes out of the dishwasher and placing them in the cupboards above her head. I smiled at her, watching her slightly before walking over to her and wrapping my arms around her stomach.
She jumped slightly, causing me to chuckle. I pressed my lips to her neck, smiling as she titled her head for me. I nipped at her skin for a few seconds, willing her to give me a tiny bit of satisfaction as to what I was doing.
Unfortunately, she set the dishes she had in her hand on the counter before turning around and taking my face in her hands.
"As much as I love you, I look like a beached whale and definitely don't feel like being intimate." She sighed as she kissed my lips softly.
I frowned slightly but not because I was being turned down of sex by my wife, but because she thought she looked like a whale.
"You look beautiful babe, definitely not like a whale."
Ever since she had started gaining the baby weight, she's been so self-conscious of what she looked like. I rubbed my hand over her very full bump, smiling as I felt my daughter move around.
"Thank you, babe. I just wish she would make her arrival soon. I'm getting so tired of not being able to do regular things." She looked down, placing her hand over mine. I used my other hand to pull her chin up so I could look into her eyes.
"She'll come when she's ready. She just likes being all warm up in there or she just likes being late; kind of like her mum." She laughed at my comment and I already knew what she was going to say.
"Our kids are going to be so confused. You say mum while I say mom. Braxton already gets so confused on it."
She was right. Whenever Braxton is with me or on of the guys he'll always copy me and say mum but uses mom when he's around Court. Honestly it was quite cute watching him go back and forth on it.
"At least we'll have some pretty awesome kids." She grinned, pulling my hand.
"Come on. I'm tired and have sore feet; let's go to bed."
I let her pull me for a few seconds before I swiped her legs out from underneath her and carried her upstairs to our room. I placed her on the bed then moved the other side so I could slip in the space beside her.
She flicked off her light before moving over to cuddle into my side. I placed my hand on her belly, running my fingers across it softly, knowing that it always calmed her and our daughter down enough so they both could sleep.
In what felt like a few minutes, Court had drifted off to sleep. She looked so peaceful.
For a while I just stared at her face, wondering how I had ever gotten so lucky and then my mind drifted back to when I first met her in that library. She was such an amazing person and the more time I spent with her the more I knew that I wanted to be in her life.
I'm not sure when I had fallen asleep but I had woken up in the middle of the night to a whimper. I flicked on the light beside once I had seen that Court wasn't in bed bedside me.
My eyes trailed to the bathroom, seeing that the door was partly closed and the light was on. I hoped out of bed, immediately heading over and knocking lightly on the door.
"Babe, you okay?" I didn't hear anything for a second but then she whimpered again. I pushed the door open just enough to see her leaning against the bathroom counter with her eyes squeezed shut.
I rushed to her side, hearing her groan as she released her breath. She panted for a few seconds before moving her head towards me.
"Baby time?" I asked even though I knew the answer.
"Definitely baby time."
Through the madness of the night, I stuck by her side. When I missed Braxton's birth, I vowed to myself that I wouldn't miss any of my other children's births'. At almost noon the next day we had our little Amelia Louise Irwin had made her arrival.
It was kind of funny how now, after knowing Courtney for almost eight years we are married, have a son and a daughter. I couldn't have asked of a better way to spend these last years and I hope that my next eighty some are just as amazing and I know that whenever I look at all of them; I know that whatever happens in life, I'll always be okay as long as I have them.
Let me just go cry in a freaking corner because i have finished this story. Out of all of the things I have written, this by far is my favorite. I'm so happy with how everything turned out and what this story has become.
I have to thank all the amazing people who have read this story, voted, commented, added to a reading list. Y'all are too amazing and I could never ever be thankful enough of you guys.
-Always And Forever Stay Beautiful. <3
(I'm going to be starting a new Michael Clifford a.u. soon Named Savannah, so please keep an eye out for that if you're interested.)